We’ve just launched something truly innovative, and I’m so excited to tell you all about it!

The new, patent-pending eCLi6 transducer for EVO and SA2 is a hybrid probe for transrectal imaging in large animal species (horses and cattle most commonly). To fully appreciate its development, let’s take a quick step back in time.

I’ve written on fetal gender determination before, but I’ve been thinking lately about the widespread notion that it’s difficult to do, takes too much time, or is hard to learn. We’re all busy, and when our clients aren’t demanding the service, it’s hard to justify taking the time to learn it.

Over the last year, E.I. Medical Imaging has updated the arrays in our broadband ultrasound transducers in both IBEX and EVO model lineups.

Veterinarians play a crucial role in disaster response and recovery, and it is essential for them to be prepared for such events.

I may be biased, but I think ultrasound is just the coolest tool out there.

Don’t get me wrong—it’s one piece of the larger diagnostic puzzle, and no single modality can be the crystal ball we all wish we had. Thorough physical exams, quality history-taking, appropriate lab work, and other types of imaging contribute to our success as practitioners in honing in on an accurate diagnosis and therefore getting our beloved patients the treatment they deserve.

1...Obtain the best image possible. 
Take the time to completely evacuate the rectum, and use plenty of lube for contact. If your ultrasound system provides variable frequency transducers, remember to operate at the highest frequency that still allows you enough depth to visualize all the pertinent structures; this will optimize the resolution of your image! You’ll acquire a higher quality (and larger!) ovary image scanning at 6cm than you will at 12cm. In addition, become familiar with your equipment; experiment with gain, contrast, and persistence in order to achieve the image that you desire.

The flat linear rectal transducer has been the standard for large animal reproductive ultrasound for a very long time. You may have noticed that in recent years, however, many folks have started to use a rectal probe with a curved array. What’s the difference, and why might you choose one over the other?

In my experience, there are two types of ultrasonographers—those who tinker a lot with their image settings, and those who prefer to never adjust anything. By the very nature of my job, I’m definitely the former… but both groups can get themselves into trouble. The Tinkerers can go down a rabbit hole and find themselves even further from the results they want, and the Never-Adjusts might be missing a lot of opportunities to optimize their image quality.

One of the really fun parts of my job as staff veterinarian here at EIMI is attending meetings and interacting with our customers. I always leave with such profound admiration for the spectrum of work that’s being done in the animal world—from what would be considered routine exams on domestic species to research on rare exotics. There are so many ultrasound applications out there!